Tackling Ballarat's high Indigenous unemployment

Since its establishment midway through last year, Ballarat Indigenous employment and training centre Yanikan Werritj has been overwhelmed with the number of job seekers coming through its doors. The centre is trying to engage local businesses to help solve the problem.

After dropping out of school in year 10, Corey Holmes worked as a bricklaying apprentice for two years. When he lost his job, he wasn't sure what to do next.

Yanikan Werritj helped secure him a place in a four day pre-employment course with the major hardware chain Masters Home Improvement. After the course, he was offered a job.

"I took it straight away and jumped aboard."

Corey now works between 30 and 36 hours a week in a permanent part-time position.

"It's normally just stock control, receiving goods from the trucks, dealing with a lot of customers out on the store floor."

Working towards independence

The 18-year-old says he is loving the job. He's saved enough money to buy his own car, and is now working on getting his 'P' plates. Corey and his partner are also saving to buy their own home.

"Give it about a year or so and we'll have ourselves a house. So I'm very happy with myself."

Katrina Beer set up Yanikan Werritj and works alongside Ash Egan to connect employers and job seekers. Mr Egan says Corey was one of six Indigenous people hired by the hardware chain following the pre-employment course last year.

"The six people who were successful are still working there, so that's obviously a really high retention rate."

He says Yanikan Werritj also provides ongoing support to employees and employers to sort out any issues that may arise, to help keep people in employment.

Unemployment figures unclear

Mr Egan says the Centrelink figure for local Indigenous unemployment of 22 percent doesn't show the whole picture.

He says people on disability support pensions or parenting payments and people who aren't linked with Centrelink aren't counted as part of the labour force.

When taking those figures into account, Yanikan Werritj estimates Ballarat's Indigenous population has an unemployment figure closer to 72 percent.

"For the six months we were open till Christmas we worked with just over 120 people, so that's consistent with what we're actually looking at with the statistics."

Centre overwhelmed with job seekers

Mr Egan says the centre works with a diverse demographic, including parents looking to get back into the workforce, young people like Corey who are not sure what to do, as well as people who have never worked.

"At the start we sent out one flyer and that's been it, but we really have been overwhelmed only having two staff."

He says the centre's track record so far - of linking 56 people with employment agencies and Centrelink - is providing hope for job seekers.

Working with businesses to achieve targets

At the moment, Yanikan Werritj is primarily working with businesses with Indigenous employment strategies or targets to help them implement those strategies and reach those targets by making positions available to local Indigenous people.

Mr Egan says one local employer that is serious about reaching its target is Ballarat Health Services.

"They've pledged to uphold and implement the one percent indigenous employment target that they have, so we're looking to fulfill that over the next two years.

"Now that one percent might seem measly, but they have up to 4100 staff, so that's 40 positions."

He says it's an "absolute myth" that Indigenous people don't want to work.

"It's easy for people to throw that out there, but we know that Indigenous people want to work."

Mr Egan says being unsure of how to go about finding a job, feeling discouraged by continual knockbacks, as well as the ability to afford clothes for an interview are all barriers for job seekers.

"So that's where we're working in partnership with employment agencies, to help provide support for community members."

Getting more businesses on board

Yanikan Werritj and the City of Ballarat are now working together to secure pledges from local businesses to open positions to local Indigenous people.

"What we're hoping to do is have a pledge of 100 jobs over the next 12 months for Indigenous job seekers.

"We are trying to encourage local employers big or small to get on board, and even if they're looking at one or two positions, that's fine.

"When we're putting people forward, we're really looking at identifying what people's goals are and what their dreams are. That way we can put people forward for suitable positions, so obviously it benefits the employer and the employee."